Stellantis is hoping to boost its chances of sourcing cheap sodium-ion for its battery-electric vehicles with its investment in a French battery technology company.
The automaker’s corporate investment fund, Stellantis Ventures, says it is now a strategic investor in Tiamat, a company developing market-ready lithium-ion free batteries. While being abundantly available, sodium claims to offer increased sustainability and material sovereignty.
The company had been one of 11 top-performing technology start-ups honored with a Stellantis Ventures Award in 2023 and lays claim to being the world’s first company to have commercialized a sodium-ion technology in an electrified product. Tiamat is a spin-off of the French National Center for Scientific Research and plans to use proceeds from the fundraising round, which includes Stellantis Ventures, to launch construction of a sodium-ion battery plant in France for power tools and stationary storage applications first, followed by large-scale production of second-generation products for BEV applications.
Ned Curic, Stellantis chief engineering and technology officer, says: “Exploring new options for more sustainable and affordable batteries that use widely available raw materials is a key part of our ambitions of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan that will see us reach carbon net zero by 2038. Our customers are asking for emissions-free vehicles that offer a combination of robust driving range, performance and affordability. This is our North Star, as Stellantis and its partners work today to develop groundbreaking technologies for the future.”
